Systems & Secrets

Systems & Secrets is a roleplaying game (RPG) setting created by author Tom Brown. Its rules are based on the d20 system.

Setting
In the centuries since the successful development and testing of the FTL drive, humanity has gone on to discover, survey, and establish colonies in thousands of star systems. This expanse is commonly referred to as Known Space. It is a complex web of politics, commerce, and intrigue which links these systems and the powers that control them together. Within this interconnected galactic society, every imaginable opportunity exists for those with the drive and ambition to pursue them. It is into this setting that you, the enterprising spacer, will enter. You may be an agent of one of the major powers, an independent, or possibly even an operative of the criminal underworld.

The paths you choose, and the decisions you make, are entirely up to you. But bear in mind, always, that the consequences of your actions may have repercussions far beyond that of your own interests and immediate concerns. Sometimes, even the smallest choice can have the greatest effect. But even still, this is part of the uncertainty and challenge of life in Occupied Space!

Great Powers
There are three major factions within Known Space, known commonly as the Great Powers, or the Big Three. Each has its own system of governance, its own social structure, and its own framework for commerce, military affairs, and other concerns.

Interstellar League
The League is a representative democracy. At its pinnacle is an executive known as the President. The legislative branch is the General Assembly, responsible for proposing, debating, and passing all laws. Each member colony sends a single representative to the Assembly in elections that take place every five years. The Supreme Court, which sits at the top of the judicial system, serves as the court of final review.

The military of the League is divided between two branches - the Fleet, responsible for naval operations, and the Ground Force, responsible for planetary operations. At present, the League military consists of numerous fleets, each made up of many flotillas consisting of one cruiser, between four and six frigates, and up to a dozen corvettes. Each colony is defended by a small local garrison of Marines and between two and ten squadrons of fast attack craft.

Ships of the Imperial Navy have hyperdrives powered by matrices of refined galeisium, a variant of.

People's Hegemony
The Hegemony is an authoritarian socialist state.

Common titles in the Hegemony include commissar.

United Worlds Empire
The Empire is a meritocratic semi-constitutional state, built upon numerous strong traditions. They operate an aggressive programme of exploration and planetary survey, always on the lookout for new, viable worlds to exploit.

Prominent military units of the Imperial Defence Forces include the elite troop squadrons Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Zeta of the Imperial Marines. All Imperial soldiers carry an L-14 blaster pistol, worn as a sidearm by officers and as a backup/secondary weapon by other troop types. The DL-2D scattergun is a popular weapon of assault trooper squads. The Navy operates all types of combat starships while the Marines operate infantry, mechanised, armoured, and artillery divisions.

Common titles in the Empire include chief administrator, senior administrator, administrator, and sub-administrator. Military ranks include supreme commander, general/admiral, brigadier/commodore, colonel/commander, major/subcommander, lieutenant, ensign, chief sergeant/chief petty officer, senior sergeant/senior petty officer, sergeant/petty officer, corporal, specialist, and private.

League

 * Amodeo, Victor -
 * Benham, Phyllis - President of the League (Carolyn Seymour)
 * Brand, Victoria -
 * Hironaka, Tamayo -
 * Hoffman, Patricia -
 * Shimada, Nanako -

Hegemony

 * Li, Chang -
 * Matajiro, Kantaro -
 * Menendez, Arturo - (Edward James Olmos)
 * Patel, Niraj -
 * Vanderpool, Julius -

Empire

 * Adeleke, Lam - (Idris Elba)
 * Belgrave, Andrew - Captain, Imperial Military, Commanding Officer of DNS Allegiance (Tom Hopper)
 * Belgrave, Leonard - Admiral, Imperial Military (Charles Dance)
 * Gibbs, Martin -
 * Grossman, Efram -
 * Owens, Albea -
 * Phạm Văn Thanh - Admiral, Combined Defence Force, Chief of the Defence Staff (James Hong)
 * Salt, Jennifer -
 * Teller, Patrick - Senior Agent, Imperial Security Service (TBD)

Capital ships

 * Carrier cruisers
 * Heavy cruisers
 * Medium cruisers
 * Light cruisers
 * Fast frigates
 * Escort frigates
 * Fast corvettes
 * Corvettes

Support ships

 * Depot Ships
 * Freighters
 * Medical Ships
 * Transports

Troop types

 * Scout
 * Trooper
 * Heavy trooper
 * Assault trooper
 * Engineer
 * Machinist
 * Technician
 * Pilot
 * Cannoneer
 * Commando
 * Sniper
 * Grenadier
 * Gunner
 * Heavy gunner
 * TacOps trooper (UWE only)
 * TacOps heavy trooper (UWE only)
 * TacOps grenadier (UWE only)
 * TacOps sniper (UWE only)

Light

 * Assault transports
 * Cargo shuttles
 * Escort shuttles
 * Fast attack craft (FACs)
 * Passenger shuttles

Races

 * Ainnad
 * Gralani
 * Human
 * Rurliek
 * Zinian

Classes

 * Agent
 * Bounty Hunter
 * Engineer
 * Gadgeteer
 * Marine
 * Medtech
 * Negotiator
 * Scientist
 * Sharpshooter
 * Smuggler
 * Trooper

Attributes
There are four attributes, and these determine a character's stats, as well as the effectiveness of their skills.


 * Power
 * abbreviated PWR, base for damage, colour is Orange
 * Body
 * abbreviation BDY, base for hit points, shield, and threat
 * Mind
 * abbreviation MND, base for skill points, colour is Blue
 * Senses
 * abbreviation SNS, base for initiative, critical chance, critical damage, and dodge, colour is Green

Base Stats
The basic factors that govern virtually every action a character takes.


 * Damage - how much a character's basic attacks deplete an enemy's HP and shield; has a minimum and maximum range
 * HP - how much damage a character can take before expiring
 * SP - resource for performing skills
 * Shield - an energy barrier that takes damage before HP is lost; not all damage can be absorbed (poison for example)
 * Shield Regen - the amount of Shield repaired each turn; Dead Short status will disable it
 * Initiative - determines the order combatants will act in a turn; has a minimum and maximum value, shown on character sheet
 * Critical Chance - how often a character will land a critical strike, which gives bonus damage
 * Critical Damage - how potent the bonus damage from a critical strike is
 * Threat - determines how often enemies will target a character, expressed as a % across characters in their respective sheets
 * Dodge - a character's chance to completely avoid an attack; negated by Mark

Status Conditions

 * Burn
 * Dead Short
 * Mark
 * Slow
 * Confusion
 * High Threat
 * Poison
 * Stun
 * Blind

General Abilities

 * All Power
 * Burning Sense
 * Change (Ally)
 * Change (Enemy)
 * Clean Up!
 * Intimidation
 * Meta-Mind
 * Pull
 * Quick Positioning
 * Science!
 * Small Health Pack

General Skills

 * Melee
 * Hand-to-Hand
 * Blunt
 * Blades


 * Ranged
 * Pistols
 * Rifles
 * Launchers
 * Heavy Weapons


 * Defence
 * Dodge
 * Block


 * Dialogue
 * Deception
 * Intimidation
 * Persuasion


 * Stealth
 * Hack
 * Lockpick
 * Sneak


 * Tech
 * Engineering
 * Medicine
 * Science


 * Leadership
 * Determination
 * Inspiration

Weapon Types

 * Handguns
 * Assault Rifles
 * Sniper Rifles
 * Repeater Rifles
 * Grenade Rifles
 * Electro-Weapons
 * Grenades
 * frag, HE frag, gas, ion, plasma, stun

Miscellaneous

 * Novolara
 * Zilvolara
 * Henope
 * Thievis
 * Pangilles
 * Lewei
 * Orovell
 * floccinaucinihilipilification - the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value, or being worthless.


 * Highwater Trousers (DSRAMOD-21TXH)
 * X948KJ
 * L4IERU
 * ER32J7
 * SatComms Array NN-03d
 * 1864.483dLNdeg
 * 7682.328dLGdeg
 * SatComms Array NW-05a
 * 1593.221dLNdeg
 * 7427.843dLGdeg
 * SatComms Array NW-07c
 * 1323.878dLNdeg
 * 3498.100dLGdeg
 * Leonard's Grove Ballistic Defence Station
 * LANCER-XI - LEONARD'S GROVE
 * LAUNCH PROTOCOL 10.77
 * SECURITY CLEARANCE GAMMA
 * EAM CLEARANCE: G 5 S S 1 8
 * PAF DEFSTAT
 * EXEC: BAGMAN
 * AUTH CODE: 0000000000
 * RESPONSE SCENARIO MX-CN91
 * ICBM RESPONSE/NUCLEAR
 * BASE COMMAND EYES ONLY
 * Generating Stations
 * MDPL-05, MDPL-13, MDPL-16, MDPL-21
 * VAPL-58, VAPL-66
 * Serum K - Serum Z
 * Security Levels
 * Alpha (Α) - Beta (Β) - Gamma (Γ)
 * Sentef - POFT FABBASHUM PRIMUS - Deo grati-fabbashum!
 * OWEN! The MOIETY!
 * Serdon House
 * Gavin Troy, Allison Bly, William Smithers, Arthur Prewitt, George Watson, Pru Bennett, Clive Warnford, Madge Fielding, Celia Laybourne, Cyril Toft, Caroline Wilmott, Edward Allardyce